UTTE Beagle Set Ref. 1UTAR.S07A.C120A

HMS Beagle undertook three survey voyages in all, but it was the
second one, with naturalist Charles Darwin on board, that
guaranteed its place in history. With this set of three watches,
each featuring an exquisite hand-painted miniature of HMS Beagle,
Arnold & Son pays tribute to one of the most celebrated ships
in the history of exploration.

The Beagle's second voyage is best known for a five-week
stopover in the Galapagos Island, which gave Charles Darwin the
foundations for his theory of evolution. The voyage's express
purpose, among other things, was to establish a chain of linked
reference points with known longitudes that could be used by future
navigators to set their chronometers precisely. For this purpose
the ship carried an unprecedented 22 marine chronometers, five of
which were by Arnold and associates. The large number of timepieces
was necessary because of inevitable malfunctions and imprecisions,
when a collection of chronometers guaranteed better average
values.

Philippe Boven, of Arnold & Son, explains the reason for a
unique limited edition set that will appeal to collectors and
connoisseurs alike: "John Arnold and his son made an enormous
contribution towards the development of the marine chronometer, so
honouring HMS Beagle with this set seemed a fitting tribute." The
set comprises three timepieces each with a different Arnold &
Son in-house movement: the HM, with the ultra-thin A&S1001
movement with over 90 hours of power reserve; the TB, with the
self-winding A&S6103 movement with integrated true beat seconds
system; and the UTTE, featuring the ultra-thin tourbillon calibre
A&S8200 with a one-minute flying tourbillon and over 90 hours
of power reserve. The movements are housed in 18-carat white gold,
18-carat rose gold and 18-carat red gold cases, respectively, with
black alligator straps.

A feature common to each of the watches is a finely detailed,
hand-painted miniature showing HMS Beagle at some stage of its
second voyage. Set against silvery-white and silvery opaline dials,
the paintings are based on illustrations of the ship taken from
documentation of the voyage. The art of painting miniatures by hand
calls for infinite patience and consummate skill. The tiny
brushstrokes and texturing gradually build up entire images with an
astonishing richness of detail and underscore Arnold & Son's
mastery of the decorative arts.

The magnificent HMS Beagle timepieces are available in a limited
edition of just eight sets of three watches each.